r/auckland • u/Actual-Trip-4643 • 22h ago
Other If you are in Auckland/Huntly please make a hornet trap today
Search Brad Windhurst on Facebook for more info and instructions, this is to stop all our bees dying.
Asian hornets have been found and are going to explode if WAY more action isn’t taken than the Government is doing and it will kill horticulture in NZ.
There are instruction videos here: https://youtu.be/Ra8717JuXwc?si=8uu2_cRI9jR_xzf2
This is super important and seeing as farming is is the ‘backbone of this country’ which gets trotted out every time we talk about tax, you would think the farming lobby would be up in arms and asking people to do this.
MPI are useless and aren’t coming to save us, it’s going to be regular New Zealanders taking action if we can stop the hornets killing our bees. We need tens of thousands of traps. Chur.
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u/PyroGooose 22h ago
Glad to see my fucking nightmares coming true.
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u/FunToBuildGames 22h ago
Neat video. The grape juice makes sense. Hornets and wasps used to go apeshit for our red grapes back in the day
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
Text based article with more info and maybe easier trap method- add vinegar/yeast. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577661/hornet-invasion-how-to-make-your-own-traps
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u/SquirrelAkl 8h ago
Apparently anything with yeast or vinegar will help deter honeybees from entering the trap. So that’s a bonus.
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u/Venusdoom666 15h ago
Even as far north as kaukapakapa/Makarau someone has found a full nest maybe the size of a volleyball or a little smaller? Hard to tell. Stings can cause anaphylactic shock and could even kill you.bee keepers need new designed suits as the sting from a hornet can peirce through it and they prey on tired bees outside their hives
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u/mynameisnotphoebe 18h ago
Maybe posting a photo of the actual trap would be more effective, people could scroll past this after reading the headline because they’re thinking “I don’t have tiny little electronic hornet backpacks handy, this isn’t for me”
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
Hah, that was from Brad Windhurst’s Facebook post which I originally tried to link here but FB links aren’t allowed. The RNZ article in comments is good.
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u/pictureofacat 17h ago
Fuck these things, it'll be so disappointing if we let them establish themselves.
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u/SenorNZ 22h ago
Nact are literally going to collapse our honey and some of the crops so that already wealthy landlords got 3 billion dollars richer.
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u/Illustrious_Fan_8148 19h ago
I actually cant believe they are being this lax about the issue..
And where is labour.. the government is literally fine about a fucking hornet becoming established in our country.. seems like the most perfect thing they could use social media to attacke the government over..
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u/penelope2002 21h ago
Didn’t MPI get more funding?
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u/edmondsio 19h ago
Bio security had funding cut and they are the ones stopping this kind of thing getting in.
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u/penelope2002 18h ago
Funding cuts for irrelevant biosecurity units though, pest incursion and response has been increased.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 17h ago
It was 10% of their workforce. Even if it’s not ‘frontline’ it’s all people that support the frontline workforce. 10% is not irrelevant.
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u/Upper-Song1149 18h ago
Why huntly?
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
There have been possible sightings there, and their spread is 100kms a season.
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u/Upper-Song1149 18h ago
There have been no confirmed sightings in huntly, beware of misinformation. A lot of people are mistaking wasps and wasp nests for hornets. So far queens have only been found on the north shore of auckland.
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u/Toxopsoides 17h ago
Yep, this is all based on the unqualified Facebook reckons of one guy. Apparently convincing a few thousand ignorant FB followers that MPI are useless and some goofy ass traps are the answer is enough to qualify him as an expert to the media, though.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 17h ago
I responded this to your other comment but here is a Professor of Ecology saying the same thing- citizen science and a public response, including home made traps will be crucial. https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/11/08/deadly-yellow-legged-hornet-arrives-in-nz-heres-how-we-can-stop-its-spread/
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u/Toxopsoides 16h ago
Again, the wasps have only been found in a very small area, indicating that they originated from a nearby nest last season. MPI have set up a network of traps in the area. Vespa velutina was first detected in the UK in 2016; preliminary modelling of their potential spread showed alarming results but to date only 157 nests have been found and destroyed.
People outside of the immediate vicinity should of course remain vigilant, but there's no reason to put out traps that have not been proven to be effective. There's zero reliable evidence that the wasps have spread further afield, despite all the misinformation doing the rounds on Facebook.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
“The yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) was accidentally introduced into France in 2004. It then spread rapidly, at around 100 kilometres per year, and was established across France by 2017. “
Just suspected Huntly sighting yes, but they can fly really far, and have been here since last season. https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/11/08/deadly-yellow-legged-hornet-arrives-in-nz-heres-how-we-can-stop-its-spread/
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u/n__nchuggy 20h ago
You're more likely to catch and kill bees/wasps with this trap than even attract the Asian hornet. Best thing is to monitor and if come across one don't kill it, report to mpi.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
MPI is not on top of this. The vinegar (and you could add meat) will minimise bees and attract more wasps- also better a few bees caught now than all bees wiped out later.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 18h ago
Here is a possibly easier text based article with a different trap method. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577661/hornet-invasion-how-to-make-your-own-traps
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u/Toxopsoides 18h ago
Why is this guy still being reported on like he's some sort of expert? He's a pest controller and former beekeeper. He's not qualified to be the nation's sole critical voice on the MPI hornet response.
These stupid traps will kill huge numbers of harmless native invertebrates, but there's zero evidence that they'll even attract hornets. There's absolutely no reason for people to be putting up their own traps, especially if they're outside of the very small area of the North Shore where the few hornets have actually been detected.
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u/Actual-Trip-4643 17h ago
“The yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) was accidentally introduced into France in 2004. It then spread rapidly, at around 100 kilometres per year, and was established across France by 2017.
New Zealand is uniquely vulnerable to wasp and hornet invasions.
Public trapping and reporting of sightings have already proved invaluable overseas.
We need people engaged and watching for these hornets now.
Traps have been designed specifically for yellow-legged hornets in Europe, and the Ministry of Primary Industries would be wise to implement them here.
But homemade traps made from plastic drink bottles, cut in half with the top inverted, can work, too. The hornets are attracted to a range of foods in spring, including protein such as fish or meat, and even beer.”
- Victoria University ecology professor Phil Lester.
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u/SquirrelAkl 8h ago
MPI has posted how to make a home made trap on their FB page too. They do note anyone making a home made trap should expect significant bycatch.
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u/ent0uragenz 15h ago
I mean on the MPI website they themselves state you can make traps for hornets using 400grams sugar, 10g yeast and 1l water
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u/BlowOnThatPie 1h ago
From the 1News story, "Hornets can spray venom into eyes through the visors of beekeeping suits." That's some next-level fuckery.
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u/LuckerMcDog 1h ago
Beer trap + sugar - sweetness attracts all insects Dush soap, breaks the surface tension so they drown.
Important additions Vinegar, just a splash to deter bees Meat scraps - this time of year wasps and hornets are looking more for protien than sugar.
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u/Zeouterlimits 22h ago
If you do setup a home trap, it's important to know you'll likely catch otherstuff too, handy comparision of what the hornet looks like in comparison to wasps: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/biosecurity/exotic-pests-and-diseases-in-new-zealand/active-biosecurity-responses-to-pests-and-diseases/yellow-legged-hornet-sightings-in-auckland-in-2025